Important Collector's Wristwatches,Po...

Grand Havana Room, Mar 24, 2004

LOT 100

"Breguet à Versailles", Grand Complication "Tourbillon 1801-2001", No. 10/28, Ref. 1801BR. Produceducedexpressly in a limited edition of 28 examples in 2001 to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of theinvention of the tourbillon by Abraham-Louis Breguet.Extremely fine, rare and important, large, half-hunter case-type, water-resistant, 18K pink gold gentleman?s wristwatch withvisible one-minute tourbillon regulator and an 18K pink gold Breguet deployant clasp.

USD 85,000 - 100,000

EUR 66,000 - 78,000

Sold: USD 101,500

C. four-body, solid, polished and brushed, hinged hand-"guilloché" cover with porthole and engraved "Tourbillon" plaque, opened by aco-axial push-button in the winding crown, transparent case back to view the movement, reeded band, straight lugs with gold-screwedbars, sapphire crystals. D. white enamel, off-center dial with painted radial Breguet numerals and marked "1801-2001", secret"Breguet" signature, at 6 o'clock,the visible tourbillon cage under a polished steel bridge, carrying the blued steel seconds hand.M. Cal. 557 entirely hand-engraved and signed "Tourbillon Breguet Nr. 1884. Brevet du 7 Messidor ans 9", 21 jewels, lateral leverescapement with one-minute tourbillon regulator with 3 equidistant polished steel arms, monometallic balance adjusted to 6 positions,shock-absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring.Dial, case and movement signed.Diam. 42 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1 - 01

Notes

The ?Breguet à Versailles Tourbillonn1801-2001? limited edition was produced in a total of 66 pieces,they are made as follows:- 28 examples in white gold with enamel dial- 28 examples in pink gold with enamel dial- 10 examples in platinum with silver guilloché dialOn June 26, 1801 - or according to theshort-lived Republican calendar of thetime, 7 Messidor, year IX - A. L. Breguetreceived a patent from the French Min-istryof the Interior for a new regulatingdevice for watches, the Tourbillon. Techni-callyan innovative and complex mecha-nism,only 35 watches of this kind were soldbetween 1805 and 1823, the year of Breguet'sdeath. For the 200th anniversary of his patent,the Breguet company introduced this model atthe "Chateau de Versailles" in May of 2000. Thedesign of the movement follows in its construction inevery detail the specifications from the original patentdocuments by Breguet. From technical features to aesthet-icalones such as the design of the famous Breguet hands, thisrare timepiece continues the legacy of the most ingenious watch-makerof all times into the 21st century.